The six Hamato siblings were all gathered in the dojo, sitting in front of their Master. Splinter paced in front of them, stroking his chin as he looked down upon his children.

"My children," He addressed. "You all have faced many powerful adversaries, and have come out victorious. However, these victories have come at a cost."

"We know Sensei." Leo told him. "Getting captured, almost getting killed at the hands of the Shredder, almost losing you..."

"Yeah, but we've always managed to come out on top." Raph pointed out.

"Do you know why that is, my son?" Splinter questioned.

"Because we're awesome, shell-kicking ninja masters!" Mikey cheered.

Splinter's walking stick whacked him hard on the top of the head, eliciting a yelp from the orange turtle.

"No, it is because of Hisako's abilities." Splinter countered. "Every major victory we have achieved was due to Hisako's mental capabilities."

"Yeah, so?" Raph asked.

"So it has the risk of making you complacent." Splinter informed. "While Hisako's powers are a great blessing, you cannot always rely on them. There will be times where your own instincts and skills are all you have to rely on. That is why today, we will be returning to the basics of ninjutsu, reading your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. And Hisako, no powers."

"Hai Sensei." Hisako replied, already focusing on turning them off.

The six rose to their feet, each drawing their respective weapons before turning to face one another. They all bowed respectfully, then slid into offensive positions. Splinter sat down in a meditative position, laying his walking stick across his lap.

"Hajime!" He called out.

With that single word, the six ninjas ran at each other, their weapons clashing loudly. Miwa's katana connected with both of Leo's, the two sharing playful smiles.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you just because we're siblings now." she warned.

"I'd be insulted if you did." Leo replied.

The two then charged and ran past each other, clashing blades as they did. They then turned back around and began clashing swords at each other. While the two sword fighters duked it out, Hisako's fan's caught Donny's staff before he could bring it down on her skull.

"Let's see how well you do against me when you can't read my mind." Donny taunted.

"I don't need my powers to beat you." Hisako retorted.

He spun his staff, attempting to sweep her off her feet, but she easily jumped out of the way, attempting to bring her fans down on his neck. Donny quickly brought his staff up to block the attack, grinning as their battle began. Leaving the two brains of the group to their battle for supremacy, Raph turned his attention on Mikey, popping his neck as he twirled his sai in his hands.

"I'm not gonna lie Mikey," Raph remarked. "I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Ditto Raphie-boy." Mikey agreed, "Today, the Mickster is gonna kick your shell."

Raph charged at Mikey, yelling with each step before jumping up, preparing to bring his sai down on his orange-clad brother. Mikey snapped one of his Nunchucks out of his belt, gripping the sticks and catching the downward sai before they could skewer him. He then shoved Raph back, throwing Raph off balance for a split second, but the hot head quickly recovered.

Off to the side, Miwa and Leo continued their dance, trading blows with such precision that you would think they were putting on a show rather than fighting.

"Juji-ken." Leo remarked after Miwa pulled off a rather tricky maneuver and nearly caught him off guard. "Interesting."

He then spun flipped over her, bringing his sword down hard, nearly disarming her. While she attempted to reassert her stance, he slid forward, attempting to stab at her. She recovered in time and twisted out of the way with a smirk.

"Kocho-giri." she noted, shaking her head as she chuckled lightly. "Predictable, but effective. No wonder Hun's cronies could never beat you."

"Happy to impress." Leo told her.

"Leo, stop flirting with our sister!" Mikey taunted while ducking a blow from Raph.

"Yeah, seriously!" Hisako agreed, delivering a solid kick to Donny's stomach.

Leo rolled his eyes as Miwa did the same, resuming their battle. Mikey grinned, then ducked a second time, narrowly avoiding a sai in the face.

"Never turn your back on the enemy, Mikey." Raph warned him. "Especially when that enemy is me!"

"I ain't scared of you Raph." Mikey informed him, twirling his Nunchucks in a nonchalant fashion. "You've yet to land a hit."

"Oh I'll land one." Raph growled, his grip on his sai tightening.

"Then bring it, bro." Mikey said, giving the red turtle a come-at-me motion.

Hisako was a blur of motion, attempting to catch Donny off guard and get a blow in, but the purple turtle was not going down easily. His staff managed to block all of her blows as a cocky grin graced his face.

"Not so easy when you can't read your opponent's mind now, is it?" he asked her.

Hisako grimaced, then threw both of her tessen at Donnie's head like a Frisbee. He easily ducked out of the way, giving her a smirk. Before he could act on her newly disarmed form, the two tessen flew back like boomerangs, colliding with the back of his head hard. The blows had him seeing stars as Hisako's foot connected with his face. He fell forward, his butt high in the air as Hisako grabbed her weapons, kicking Donny's staff away from him.

"I don't know, that was rather easy." she informed him.

While Hisako reveled in her victory, Miwa and Leo's dance continued, though it was becoming clear that Miwa was winning. She pressed Leo harder and harder, moving with grace and precision born of a lifetime of swordplay.

"Sheesh, is there any sword technique you don't know?" Leo questioned as he blocked another series of potentially deadly blows.

"Shredder wanted me to be the best." Miwa replied simply, sweeping Leo's legs out from underneath him.

Leo landed hard, bouncing on his carapace before Miwa's foot came down on his plastron, pinning him. He barely had time to blink before he was looking down the length of Miwa's sword.

"Looks like I win." She declared.

Leo sighed, releasing his grip on his swords. Miwa removed her foot, then turned to Hisako, who spun her tessen in her hand before opening them. The two girls moved towards each other as Donny and Leo moved to join Master Splinter at the edge of the training mat.

"Let's see how well you do against someone of your own species." Hisako quipped.

"Let's see how well you do against someone who's better than you." Miwa retorted.

"Let's see how well you do against-" Hisako faltered, unable to come up with a good rebuttal, then she just gave up. "-oh let's just go."

The two girls charged, Miwa's katana clanging against Hisako's fans. Mikey glanced over at their battle, dodging and weaving to avoid his brother's mindless assault as a smile grew.

"Aw man, catfight!" Mikey cheered, leapfrogging over Raph.

Raph stumbled, feeling his trademark anger began to boil inside of him.

"You should spend less time watching our sisters, and more time fighting me!" he snapped.

He charged again, his form visibly devolving as he tried to pin down his loudmouth brother. Mikey grinned, sliding out of the way and sending Raph colliding with the wall.

"It's called multitasking, bro." Mikey told him, shining his knuckles on his shirt. "Besides, I don't need to focus to fight you. You're more predictable than looney toon cartoon, and not nearly as fun."

Raph growled, dropping his sai as his fists clenched. Mikey saw this and grinned.

"Oooooh, now it's getting interesting." he remarked.

Raph jumped up and tried to punch Mikey across the jaw, but an upper rising block from the orange turtle made his effort futile.

"Good reverse punch." Mikey complimented.

Foregoing punches, Raph tried for kicks, but a backflip from Mikey once more left him hitting nothing but air.

"Nice roundhouse kick too, Raph." Mikey added.

Raph's breath was getting ragged as he continued his futile efforts to land a blow on his brother.

"Not a bad dragon punch either," Mikey informed him, getting into position, "but you're just a little too...

Raph came in and Mikey not only slid out of his path, but he slid a Nunchuck out of his belt, bringing it across the back of Raph's skull and send him colliding into the wall once more.

"-slow!" Mikey finished as he slid his weapon back into his belt. "Actually, much too slow."

By this point, Raph was seeing red. He slowly got to his knees, his eyes locking onto Donny's tool box, which laid discarded near the entrance of the dojo. Earlier that day, the purple turtle had been trying to do some repairs before Splinter had called for their training session.

Not thinking rationally, Raph grabbed the large monkey wrench at the top of the box, gripping it tightly. He stalked back towards Mikey, who had turned his attention back to Miwa and Hisako's fight. He was so focused on their bout that he didn't see Raph approaching him with seemingly murderous intent. Thankfully, Leo was much more observant.

"Raph stop!" he screamed.

Mikey turned just as Raph brought the wrench down. Mikey brought up his arms to protect his head and the wrench came down hard right arm. The crack echoed through the dojo, as did Mikey's scream of pain. In that instant, Miwa and Hisako stopped fighting, their weapons clattering to the ground as they bolted towards their injured brother. Donny and Leo immediately grabbed Raph, the latter snatching the wrench from Raph and tossing it as far away as he could. Miwa and Hisako grabbed Mikey, pulling him away as he cradled his broken arm, sobbing openly.

"Raphael, what the shell?!" Hisako screamed, holding Mikey's head as Miwa tried to look at his arm.

"His arm's broken." She explained, wincing as she saw blood pooling and a small sliver of bone peeking through the skin. "I think both his radius and his ulna were snapped clean."

"What the shell were you thinking Raph?!" Donny yelled.

Raph was still breathing heavily in the grip of his brothers, but seeing Mikey on the ground being tended to by his sisters caused the red to fade from his vision. Anger was replaced with horror as he felt his strength leave him.

"Mikey..." he let out, horrified.

Splinter approached Raph, ushering for Leo and Donny to release him. They did so reluctantly, their eyes never leaving him as they moved to check on Mikey. Splinter looked at his injured son, then back at Raphael, his face a mask of disappointment and sadness.

"My son..." he said softly. "I thought you were past this. I thought you had finally learned not to let your anger cloud your judgement."

"I... I thought so too Sensei." Raph replied.

"Sensei, I don't have the proper equipment to reset Mikey's arm." Donny called out nervously.

"We need to get him to Galactic Enterprises." Hisako declared. "The Utroms should be able to help."

"Then go." Splinter told them. "Take your brother, but be careful."

Very gently, the turtles helped Mikey to his feet, ushering him towards the elevator. Raph's eyes met Mikey's, and when they did, he saw something that he never thought he would see in the eyes of one of his brothers.

Fear.

Raph stumbled back, feeling as though he was about to throw up. Splinter eyes his son, then sighed.

"Raphael, do what you must to regain yourself." He told him. "I must attend to Michelangelo."

He then turned to follow the rest out of the lair. This act was the final straw. Raph bolted out the lair as fast as he could, angry tears rolling down his face.

...

The manhole cover was shoved upward with a loud clang as Raph pulled himself onto the surface. Not even bothering to put it back, Raph leaned against the wall of the alley he'd entered, resting his forehead against the rough brickwork. He dry heaved a couple times, feeling as though he was going to lose his dinner, keeping his eyes closed as more shameful tears dripped down his face.

"Why...?" He muttered to himself. "Why did I do that? What's wrong with me?"

He remained there for a few minutes, just trying to regain control over his swirling emotions. All of a sudden, frantic footsteps began closing in on the alley Raph was in. Wiping his eyes, Raph quickly dove for the open manhole, sliding the lid back into place but keeping a small crack open so he could see.

Through the crack, Raph watched as a young boy came barreling around the corner. He couldn't be older than about nine, dressed in a Knicks t-shirt with a pair of shorts. He was barefoot, and both of his knees were scraped and bleeding. The kid immediately ran over to a nearby dumpster, scrambling inside before closing the lid down over him.

No sooner had the kid hidden himself in the dumpster, a gang of at least five purple dragons came into the alley after him, each of them armed with high grade weapons. Raph felt his knuckles clenched tighter on the metal rung of the ladder he was on.

"Purple Dragons." he spat. "And here I thought they couldn't stoop any lower."

"Fan out and find that boy." One of the Dragons ordered. "Hun will squish our heads like blueberries if he don't bring him back."

Raph heard enough. He shoved the manhole cover off again, then jumped out into the alley.

"Hey, Purple Dragons!" he shouted. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

He reached for his sai, but cursed when he realized he'd never grabbed them before leaving the lair. The Dragons noticed this, grinning as they moved in on the turtle.

"Well, well, looks like we get to waste a turtle tonight boys." the leader of the Dragons remarked, aiming his gun at Raph.

The rest of his cronies followed suit, preparing to reduce Raph to dust. Before they could, the familiar sound of rusty hinges echoed through the alley. The Dragons all turned to see the boy peeking out of the dumpster. He yelped once he realized he'd been spotted, immediately ducking back into the garbage. Raph took full advantage of this momentary distraction, snatching the gun from one of the cronies and using it as a bat, catching two across the back of the head. The other two went to shoot Raph, but the turtle easily avoided the spray of gunfire, making sure to stay as far away from the dumpster the kid was hiding in.

"Hold still you freak!" one punk shouted.

"Fat chance!" Raph replied, delivering a kick to the punk's face.

The second armed Dragon received a gun butt to the face, breaking his nose and his concentration. Discarding the confiscated gun, Raph grabbed the bleeding punk by the belt, lifting him up and tossing him into the final punk, knocking out two dragons with one blow.

"Shell, I needed that." Raph let out, turning his attention to the dumpster the kid was hiding in. "Hey kid. It's okay. You can come out now."

Very slowly, the lid of the dumpster opened up and a pair of bright green eyes scanned the gloom of the alley. When those eyes fell on Raph, they grew bigger, the lid finally opening all the way.

"Whoa." the kid gasp. "What are you?"

"My name's Raphael." Raph replied, reaching for the kid and pulling him from the dumpster. "I'm a turtle."

"Cool." the kid let out as Raph set him on the ground.

Raph crouched down and gave the kid a quick glance over, checking to make sure he was okay. Aside from the still bleeding scrapes on his knees, the kid was filthy from the dumpster, and he had some minor cuts on his knuckles and palms. Raph couldn't help but sigh in relief when he realized the kid wasn't badly hurt.

"What's your name?" Raph asked, remaining crouched so he was at eye-level with the kid.

"Tyler." the kid replied, looking past Raph to eye the unconscious Dragons. "They're not gonna wake up, are they?"

"When they do, we'll be long gone." Raph promised him, scooping him up and putting him on his back. "Now hold on tight and don't look down."

Tyler gripped the edge of Raph's carapace as the red turtle jumped up onto a nearby fire escape. He quickly scaled it to the top of the building, then began leapfrogging across the rooftops, desperate to put some distance in between himself and the Dragons.

...

After several minutes of just straight out running, Raph finally felt safe enough to stop. He came to a halt on the roof overlooking the police station, pulling Tyler off of his back.

"Alright, kid." Raph began. "You should be safe now. I'd take you in closer, but the reasons why I can't should be obvious."

Tyler looked down at the police station, looking visibly nervous. Raph sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I'll be right here, and I won't leave until you're safely inside." Raph promised. "You have my word."

"I- I can't." Tyler let out.

"Sure ya can, kid." Raph assured him. "The fire escape is right there, and then-"

"No, you don't get it." Tyler interrupted. "I can't go in there yet. I have to help my mom."

Raph felt a cold lump settle in his stomach.

"Your mom?" he repeated.

Tyler nodded, rubbing his arm nervously.

"Those guys broke into our house around dinner time." The kid explained. "They were after something my mom had. She's a reporter you see, and she managed to get a recording of the leader of those Purple Dragons. I think his name is bun... or run... I'm not sure."

"Hun?" Raph guessed.

Tyler snapped his fingers.

"That's it." he replied. "My mom said that the recording was super important, and that she needed to get it to the police. That's when those bad guys came in. They grabbed my mom, but I was able to get away from them, thanks to you. I'm just scared of what they'll do to my mom to get her recording."

Raph's fists clenched and his teeth ground against each other.

"They ain't gonna get the chance to lay a finger on her." the red turtle swore.

Tyler's face lit up.

"Wait, you're gonna help me?" he asked,

"Sure as shell I am." Raph replied with a nod. "I've got a thing about people messing with family, and besides, Hun and I have history."

"Oh do we." Hun remarked as he entered the roof.

Raph whipped around, instinctively shoving Tyler behind him as Purple dragons began pouring in from the roof access and the fire escape.

"Hun..." Raph snarled.

"I should have known you had something to do with my men going down." Hun let out, cracking his knuckles. "We have a score to settle after our last encounter."

"You're not still huffed up about what my sister did to your boss, are ya?" Raph taunted. "Or have you found some other boot to lick?"

Hun growled loudly.

"Waste the turtle, but leave the brat alive." Hun ordered.

The Dragons moved in on the pair. While these guys weren't armed with assault rifles, they were armed with baseball bats, thick chains, and other blunt instruments perfect for bashing some brains.

"Stay behind me, Tyler." Raph hissed, getting into a defensive stance. "This could get ugly."

The dragons wasted no time moving in on him. One of the dragons tried striking Raph with his chain, but Raph caught it and pulled him in close, kicking him in the gut. Another one tried swinging a bat at him, but Raph ducked under it and gave him an uppercut to the jaw. As Raph landed, he swept the legs of another dragon that tried getting in close.

Hun watched the fight, cursing as he saw his men getting the snot beaten out of them. He reached into his trench coat, pulling out a flash grenade before hitting the activator.

"Hey freak!" Hun shouted before lobbing the grenade at Tyler. "Heads up!"

Tyler screamed and went to cover his head. In that instance, the image of Mikey shielding himself from Raph's furious onslaught flashed through the red turtle's brain. Before he could even register what he was doing, he dove in the way of the grenade as it exploded in his face.

Blinding light filled Raph's eyes as he cried out in pain, falling to his knees. Tyler gasped, going to Raph's side.

"Raphael?" He asked quietly.

Raph blinked, rubbing his eyes repeatedly before looking in Tyler's general direction. His pupils were as tiny as needles, and redness filled the whites of his eyes.

"We've got a problem." Raph told him. "I can't see a thing."

Tyler gulped as the Dragons and Hun began to move in.

"Can't fight what you can't see, can you?" The behemoth taunted.

Raph growled, knowing all too well that Hun was right. He felt around for Tyler, grabbing him and throwing him over his shoulder.

"We need to get out of here, kid." Raph hissed. "Which way is the roof access?"

"It's to your left, but three uglies are blocking the path."

"Not for long." Raph replied.

Raph then dashed forward and tackled the three of them to the ground.

"Did I get them?" he asked.

"Heck yeah you did." Tyler replied. "The doors right in front of you."

Raph fumbled for the knob, throwing the door open and going to step forward. Unfortunately, he was ill prepared for the fact that the stairs began immediately as the door opened. He and Tyler ended up rolling down a good seven steps before smacking right into the wall.

"Tyler, was there a sign on the door that read Watch your step?" Raph let out.

"Maybe, I don't know." Tyler replied.

"Look, until Hun's flash grenade wears off, I need you to be my eyes." Raph told him. "Now, turn me towards the steps, take my hand, and let's book!"

Tyler did as he was told, grabbing Raph's hand and leading him down the flights of stairs with the Purple Dragons in tow.

"They're right behind us!" Tyler shouted.

"Just keep running Tyler." Raph told him. "Don't stop until we reach the bottom."

Unfortunately, at the bottom of the steps were even more Purple Dragons, each of whom were armed and itching for some fun. Tyler skidded to a stop at the base of the stairs as Raph stopped beside him.

"Kid, what's going on?" Raph questioned.

"There's more of them down there." Tyler replied.

"Is there another exit around here?" Raph asked. "A window? A door? I'll take anything."

Tyler glanced around before his eyes fell on the fire exit.

"There's a door to the right." Tyler told him. "Only two guys guarding it."

"I'll take it!" Raph replied.

He tightened his grip on Tyler's hand, then charged forward. However, the dragons just stepped out of the way.

"Raphael, look-!" Tyler tried to warn him before he smacked right into the door. "They moved."

Raph growled, growing more and more agitated with how helpless he was. He pulled himself to his feet, feeling for the door and pushing it open. Almost immediately, an alarm began blaring, which spooked all of the dragons.

"C'mon, kid." Raph declared, grabbing Tyler and tucking him under his arm. "Get us out of here."

"Turn left." Tyler told him. "That leads out onto the street."

Raph did just that bolting away as the dragons exited to building.

"He's getting away!" a dragon shouted.

"Let him." Hun declared. "That turtle is as predictable as they come. I know exactly where he'll go next."

With that, he and the Dragons disappeared, just as the police began to show up.

...

Raph and Tyler eventually stopped running, Raph following his companion's directions as best he could. Unfortunately, his sight had yet to return, and he had lost track of where he was a good hour ago.

"Tyler, are you gonna tell me where you're taking me?" The red turtle asked.

"Keep it down." Tyler warned. "We're almost there."

"Almost where?"

"My house."

Raph immediately stopped.

"Kid, how close are we to your house?"

"It's just around the corner." Tyler answered. "I was about to have you turn left."

Raph turned to the left, feeling for the wall.

"Tyler, is there a fire escape on this building?"

"Put me down and I'll lead you."

Raph compiled and Tyler immediately pulled him towards the fire escape. The two scaled the building as quickly as they could before approaching the edge.

"Okay kid, tell me everything you see." Raph insisted.

Tyler looked over the edge of the building, immediately looking over at his house. He could see a pair of Dragons guarding the front door, and another standing at the base of the building's fire escape. On the roof by the access door was an overweight Purple Dragon standing guard.

"I see four punks guarding any way into my house." Tyler explained, then something caught his eye.

He glanced through a window into his mother's bedroom, and he could see her tied to a chair. Her hair was messy and she had a black eye with a busted lip. Upon seeing that, Tyler's fists clenched.

"They hurt my mom!" he practically yelled. "They hurt her!"

Raph grabbed Tyler, slapping a hand over his mouth to quiet him down.

"Easy there, kid." Raph told him. "You need to calm down."

Tyler pulled his face free of Raph's grip.

"You don't get it! Those guys hurt my mom and they need to pay!"

"Believe me, if anybody gets wanting revenge, it's me." Raph assured him. "But if you let that anger of yours get the better of you, you're gonna get yourself, and those you care about hurt."

Raph paused, mulling over his own words as small chuckle escaped his lips.

"Whoa... listen to me." He let out.

"What?" Tyler asked, a bit confused.

"Forget it." Raph told him, giving a dismissive wave. "It's just something my father's been trying to teach me for as long as I can remember. Now listen, any other night I'd go down there and beat the snot out of those guys by myself. Unfortunately, I'm still as blind as a bat, and I'm missing my sai. That means if we're gonna do this, I'm going to need your help."

Tyler straightened up.

"What do you need me to do?" Tyler asked.

"Well first, we need to get our signals straight, so here's what we're gonna do..."

...

Up on the roof of Tyler's house, the overweight Dragon paced around, keeping an eye out for any possible rescue attempts. Unbeknownst to him, Raph scaled the wall of the building with a pair of ninja claws he was lucky enough to have on his belt. Tyler was perched on his back, keeping an eye out for the unsuspecting guard.

Tyler took a small rock, tossing it at the edge of the roof and away from the roof access door. As expected, the Dragon immediately went to investigate, leaving the door unguarded.

"Now." Tyler whispered. "Door's at 2 o'clock."

Raph jumped onto the roof, turning towards his 2 o'clock and slinking towards the door. He made his way inside, though this time he made sure to test for steps before barreling in.

The two slowly made their way down into the house, Raph sliding Tyler off of his back as they reached the main hallway. He gave a sniff, grinning somewhat.

"From the amount of cheap cologne in the air, I'd say there's a good half dozen Purple Dragons out there." Raph muttered.

Tyler peaked out to check, noting Raph's prediction was almost 100% accurate.

"There's seven of them." He told the turtle. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Raph replied before stepping out from around the corner.

As he came into view of the Purple Dragons, they all immediately reached for their weapons.

"It's the turtle!" One shouted. "He's here!"

"See, what did I tell you?" Hun asked, stepping into the light as he cracked his knuckles, glaring cruelly at Raph. "If there's one thing that you freaks are known for, it's sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"What nose?" Raph quipped. "Last time I checked, I didn't have one."

"When my boys and I are through with you, you won't have a face." Hun promised.

Raph just smirked as he took a fighting stance.

"Talk to me Tyler, where are they?"

Hun chuckled at that.

"So, still as blind as a bat." he commented, lifting his fist.

"Duck!" Tyler yelled.

Raph hit the deck seconds before Hun's fist connected with his face.

"12 o'clock!"

Raph took the cue and punched straight forward, socking Hun in the face. Almost immediately, three more dragons moved in to try and take him out.

"7 o'clock!"

Raph's foot connected with an approaching Dragon, sending him flying into the wall hard enough to dent the plaster.

"4 o'clock!"

An elbow jab caught the next dragon right in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

"Again!"

Raph punched the same dragon right in the face, breaking his nose and sending him sliding to the ground unconscious. The third dragon went to bring a baseball bat down on Raph's shell

"6 o'clock!"

Raph rabbit punched the guy without even turning around. Hun watched his men go down, then his eyes fell on Tyler.

"Time to shut the brat up." he decided.

He stepped right up to Tyler, grabbing him and lifting him into the air right before slapping a large hand over his mouth.

"Hey turtle!" Hun called out. "Cute game you had with the kid. Now it's time to play a round of Blind Man's Bluff."

As expected, without Tyler to direct him, Raph was open game for the Dragons. Their laughter echoed through the house as they pushed and punched away at Raph, tossing him about like a ragdoll. He suffered several blows before falling face first onto the ground.

"How pathetic." One of the dragons snorted. "One of the strongest beings we've encountered, and he's useless without his sight."

"Guess all that karate stuff don't mean nothing if ya can't see!" another bellowed.

Raph panted, getting on all fours as he tried to stand up. As he did, the words of the dragons sparked a memory. A lesson that Master Splinter had taught him and his siblings not long into their training.

"A ninja that relies on sight alone is doomed to failure." Splinter had told them. "As warriors of the shadows, you must grow accustomed to the dark, and learn to rely on more than just your eyes."

Raph chuckled, then got to his feet as he slid into a defensive position. Hun laughed, Tyler still squirming in his grip.

"The reptile is still trying to fight." he commented, shaking his head. "Put him out of his misery."

A Dragon moved in with a bat, and Raph easily slid out of the way, feeling the air move past his face as he did. The dragons' bravado faltered a bit, then another tried a punch. Once again, Raph dodged, but this time delivering a knee to the groin.

"What the-?" one dragon questioned. "How are you doing that? You're supposed to be blind."

"I don't need to see ya to beat ya." Raph informed the Dragon.

Raph then delivered a spin kick to the dragons face, taking him out as well. Another dragon stepped forward trying to punch him, Raph quickly dodged the blow and struck him in the gut.

Hun growled, then tossed Tyler to the ground as he took off his trench coat, determined to finish this fight himself.

"Okay, turtle." he snarled. "This ends tonight."

"I couldn't agree more!" Raph replied.

Getting to his feet, Tyler eyes the fight and decided to resume his role as Raph's eyes.

"1 o'clock!"

Raph delivered a hard punch to Hun's gut, forcing the behemoth to step back slightly.

"7 o'clock!"

Another punch connected with Hun's jaw, sending him reeling back even further. One of the few remaining dragons tried to snatch Tyler, but the kid easily rolled out of the way to continue his task.

"3 o'clock!"

Raph jumped up and kicked Hun solidly in the chest, knocking him right into the dragon trying to grab Tyler.

"1 o'clock! 1! 1! 1!"

Raph kicked again, maintaining his balance and delivery consecutive blows with each shout from Tyler. With the fourth and final kick, Hun fell hard, Raph's footprint practically stamped onto the front of his shirt. Raph lowered his foot, grinning widely.

"Anyone else want some?" he questioned.

The Dragons wasted no time bolting for the door, dragging their unconscious friends out with them. About four of them had to work together to get Hun out of the building. Raph listened as they left, leaning against the wall as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Tyler." he told him.

"You didn't really need my help, did you?" Tyler asked.

"Oh I did." Raph assured him. "My little trick may have worked against the Dragons, but you pulled through with Hun. Couldn't have done it without you."

Tyler grinned, then he looked over at the door to his mom's room. Raph gave him a nudge, ushering him forward.

"Go on." He told him. "I need to catch my breath anyhow."

Tyler looked over at Raph, then surprised the hot head with a hug. For a second, Raph just sat there slightly dazed, but soon returned the hug. Once they released, Tyler disappeared into his mom's room to untie her.

"Mom!" he cried out.

"Tyler?" She questioned, shocked and slightly terrified. "How are you-?"

"Later Mom." Tyler told her, getting her loose before sliding a recorder out of his pocket. "I kept it safe for you."

Tyler's mom hugged him, then the two ran out the back door of the building. Through blurry eyes, Raph watched them go, wiping his eyes as his sight finally began to return to him.

"Finally." he muttered, standing up and going to the window.

From the window, he saw Tyler and his mom running down the street, no doubt to make their way to the police station. He'd follow them, make sure that they made it in one piece, then he had his own family to check on.

...

Mikey sat on an infirmary bed of Galactic Enterprises, his arm in a sling with several bandages wrapped around it. An IV tube of mutagenic medicine was embedded beneath the bandages, pumping the healing medicine right into the wound. Dr. Xeinos checked on the mutagen levels, then floated out of the room to where the rest of the Hamato Family was waiting.

"How is he?" Donny asked the second the doctor approached.

"I reset the bones, and the mutagen medicine is accelerating the healing process." Xeinos explained. "He should be fully healed in a day or so."

"Thank God." Leo let out.

About that time, Samson entered the room, helping Raph walk in. The Hamato Family looked over, all of them immediately running towards the pair.

"Raphael, what has happened to you?" Splinter questioned, gently cupping his son's face.

"If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy." Raph replied, trying to brush it off. "Where's Mikey?"

"He's in there." Hisako answered, gesturing to the infirmary room.

"Raph, let Dr. Xeinos check you out." Leo insisted.

Raph shook his head with a smile.

"Whatever you say, Leo." he told him. "I just need to tell Mikey something."

The Hamato family parted ranks, allowing Raph into the infirmary with Mikey, Dr. Xeinos right behind him. Mikey perked up when he heard the door open, his eyes meeting Raph's. When he saw the state his brother was in, he gave off a sympathetic wince.

"Who shellacked your shell, bro?" he questioned.

"Just some Purple Dragon punks." Raph assured him, sitting down next to Mikey on the bed as Xeinos set him up with an IV of mutagen medicine. "How's your arm?"

Mikey adjusted his sling, wincing slightly, but maintaining his usual cheery demeanor.

"Sore, but the doc says I'll be swinging chucks and chucking water balloons in a few days." Mikey told him.

"Guess I can expect a few balloons in my face once those bandages come off." Raph joked.

"Maybe." Mikey replied, grinning widely.

There was a bit of silence, then Raph's eyes drifted down to his hands, his smile fading.

"Mikey..." he began, hesitating somewhat. "Look I- I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, and I never should have even picked up that wrench."

Mikey placed a hand on Raph's arm, causing the red turtle to look up.

"We all make mistakes, bro." Mikey told him. "Besides, I'm pretty sure the Dragons got even for me."

"Oh they just got lucky with a flash grenade." Raph informed him. "That's the only reason they were able to get me this bad."

"Oh I want to hear all the details." Mikey said, leaning back against the headboard of the bed.

Raph chuckled, then started his tail from the beginning. Unbeknownst to him, the rest of the Hamato Family gathered in the door to listen, happy that Raph and Mikey had made peace.